The army has only nine unitary rocket launchers (LRU) in working order. And again, three are on a mission in Romania, and some even serve as a bank for spare parts. In short, the stock in sight. The catch? These systems, put into service in the 90s, will no longer be usable by 2027, for lack of components.
A hole in the French arsenal
The military programming law (LPM) provides for new rocket launchers by 2030, via the FLP-T program, entrusted to two industrial tandems: Thales with Arianegroup, and Mbda with Safran. But the first prototypes will not be tested until 2026. It is late, especially if we want to be able to deploy a division capable of hitting far from 2027.
This is where a third thief between the scene: lightning. This project developed by Turgis & Gaillard had never been mentioned publicly before, but a parliamentary report highlighted it at the end of April. Since then, the company has decided to accelerate its presentation.
Mounted on a Kerax 6 × 6 truck from Renault Trucks, lightning focused on simplicity and efficiency: it does not need stabilizers to shoot, can be transported by plane (A400M or C-130), and reposition itself quickly to avoid enemy responses. A kind of French, but lighter Himars.
On the armament side, it can draw 227 mm M31 rockets (the same as the Himars), but also Atacms or PRSM missiles, and even MBDA cruise missiles with a range up to 1,000 km. It would also be compatible with PINAKA Indian Roquettes. In short, a real Swiss knife of long -range artillery.
The system is made in France: Chassis in Charente, integration into Lozère. It works with Odin, a home communication system, and can dialogue with the Aarok drone to form a totally sovereign-frappet chain.
Neither MBDA nor Thales see this project as a direct competitor: Lightning could coexist with their ammunition. And on the political side, the signals are rather positive. The Minister of the Armed Forces has already visited the workshops, and a first test of the Aarok drone was expected before the Bourget fair. If everything is going well, a purchase decision could fall from the start of the school year.
Not bad for a discreetly developed project, without big consortium or public funding. And above all, it would allow France to avoid having to Buy American Himars or Korean rocket launchers.
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